Views of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on Agenda Items at Issue at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2027

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio Regulations are an internationally agreed treaty that regulates use of the radio spectrum. The regulations consist of more than 2,500 pages of individual articles, appendices, and resolutions. The rapidly evolving nature of radiocommunications technologies, applications, and needs demands that these regulations be updated. However, the large, complex, and intertwined nature of radio spectrum usage necessitates that such updates be very carefully considered, and typically incremental in nature. To enact such updates, the ITU convenes World Radio Communication Conferences (WRCs), currently held every 4 years, with specific agenda items considering targeted changes to the regulations. During the years leading up to each WRC, the agenda items are subject to detailed study at the national and international level, with careful consideration given to the implications of each proposed change to potentially affected uses of the radio spectrum. This report is intended as a resource for those involved in the 2027 WRC and its precursor meetings in the coming years. It provides not only a summary of the scientific uses of the regions of the spectrum that may be affected by each agenda item (either directly or indirectly through out-of-band or harmonic emissions), but also carefully considers recommendations regarding appropriate measures to protect those uses.